The grand prize at Canada's BANFF Television Festival went to documentary A Cry From The Grave, which investigates the massacre of 7,000 Muslim refugees in Srebrenica.

The film, produced by the UK's Antelope and BBC, the US' Thirteen-WNET and the Netherlands' Ryninks Films, also picked up the top prize in its own category, best history and biography programme.

HBO's A Lesson Before Dying won best made-for-TV movie, while best mini-series was awarded to Longitude, from the UK's Granada Film. Best continuing series went to HBO and Brillstein-Grey Productions' The Sopranos and best arts documentary was awarded to American Masters: Hitchcock, Selznick And The End of Hollywood, by Thirteen-WNET.

US and British programmes were dominant in the winners circle, with the US enjoying its best showing in the festival's 21-year history.

Other prizes saw best animation going to Canada's When The Day Breaks, Australia's Round The Twist: Whirling Derfish winning best children's progamming and the UK's Smack The Pony taking the best comedy award.

Pat Ferns, president and chief executive office of the festival, also announced the appointment of Jacques Bensimon to the newly-created post of executive vice-president. Bensimon, currently managing director of the French network of Canada's TV Ontario, takes up the position in October.